Coronavirus kills 250 in a day in Italy

After China where the coronavirus outbreak began, Italy became the second highest country hit by the fast-spreading disease, officially known as COVID-19. The number of new cases and deaths from the deadly virus in the country is on the gradual rise.

The country now has 17,660 confirmed cases with over 2,547 new ones. The country reported more than 250 new deaths in a day, bringing the national total to 1,266. Of those originally infected, 1,439 patients recovered.

Italy's Civil Protection Agency came up with the latest development on Saturday (March 14).

Around six crore Italians have been kept in quarantine since the country declared a state of emergency on Tuesday (March 10).

The coronavirus initially emerged in China late last year and is now spreading in Europe and across the Middle East, forcing the World Health Organization (WHO) to declare it a global pandemic.

The illness, whose symptoms are fever, cough and difficulty breathing, may cause lung lesions and pneumonia.

Since December 2019, over 145,632 people have been infected in 145 countries and territories across the globe, with more than 5,436 deaths mostly in China.

Italy/Ismail Hossain Swapan/AI